Kitty's classroom: The Shards, New London Bridge Station

The Shards,
New London Bridge Station
By Renzo Piano

Shard London Bridge,

also known as London Bridge Tower, the Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge and The Shardsupertall skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. When completed in 2012 it will be the tallest building in the United Kingdom and one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

Design&Planning

It would replace Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building which was completed in 1976. The tower would stand at 310 m (1,017 ft) tall and have 72 floors, plus 15 further radiator floors Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project. After a lengthy public inquiry, the collaboration successfully achieved its objective, and the developers were granted full planning permission in November 2003. in the roof, making it the tallest building in the country. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked together with architectural firm

The Shard was announced with the hope that it would be the tallest building in Europe on completion, surpassing Frankfurt's Commerzbank Tower, which at 259 m (850 ft) had been the tallest building in Europe since 1997. The Commerzbank has since been surpassed in height by two Moscow skyscrapers, Triumph-Palace and Naberezhnaya Tower, both of which the Shard tower would, in turn, surpass. However, since 2000, construction has started on three skyscrapers in Moscow that will rise higher than the Shard tower, including the 612 m (2,008 ft) Russia Tower that is now on hold. Even though the Russia Tower is on hold the other two, the Federation Tower East and the Mercury City Tower are still scheduled to be completed before the shard. Still, if completed on schedule, the Shard London Bridge may become the tallest building in the European Union.

Another London skyscraper, the Bishopsgate Tower, was submitted for planning permission in London and was originally proposed to exceed the height by one metre. However, the scheduled height of the Bishopsgate Tower has now been reduced, so Shard London Bridge could once again become London's tallest occupied building if construction goes ahead. By way of comparison, Britain's tallest free-standing structure is the Emley Moor tower at 330.4 m (1,084 ft), and the tallest man-made structure of any kind in Britain (and the EU) is the Belmont mast at 385 m (1,260 ft).

Renzo Piano, the project's architect, has compared his design to "a shard of glass" – he considers the slender, spire-like form of the tower a positive addition to the London skyline and believes that its presence will be far more delicate than opponents of the scheme allege. He proposes a sophisticated use of glazing, with expressive facades of angled panes intended to reflect light and the changing patterns of the sky, so that the form of the building will change according to the weather and seasons.^{[citation needed]}^[1]

In addition to the tower, there would be major improvements to London Bridge station and the surrounding area. As part of a Section 106 legal agreement, these would include a new concourse and public piazza, affordable housing and regeneration programmes.^[2] A new museum would also be built.

A hotel, to be operated by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts as their first European location, would be expected to take up around a fifth of the available space in the tower. A large pre-let for office space in the tower has been agreed in principle by Transport for London.

Data derived from the World Trade Center (WTC)collapse has resulted in a re-evaluation of the design of tall structures now being built globally. Shard’s early conceptual designs were among the first in the UK to be progressed following the publication of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report into the WTC collapse. The building will be designed to maintain its stability under the most onerous conditions.^[3]

Another notable feature of the building would be a public viewing gallery at the top. This would be expected to draw over two million visitors a year. In addition, a shorter building known as London Bridge Place will be built nearby. This will replace the current London Bridge House and the combined sites will create what will be known as The London Bridge Quarter.

Construction

In February 2009, a mobile crane and a small piling rig appeared on site. In early March the small crane began putting steel beams into the ground, as part of preparations for the core of the building.

Full construction began on 16th March 2009, with the first piling rig on site.

The concrete core is expected to begin rising towards the end of the year, and completion is planned for May 2012.

Proposal